


Garrett In The Middle

by herelittlefish



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Canon - Book, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Multi, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-04-16 08:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14160657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herelittlefish/pseuds/herelittlefish
Summary: *DISCONTINUED*'Garrett Laughlin’s always been smarter than he likes to let on.What, you thought his friendship with Bram Greenfeld was an extreme case of opposites attract?Well, he can’t exactly blame you for that.'An interpretation of the semi-douche Garrett, who is a bit more than meets the eye. Well, more than Simon sees, anyway. Follows mostly book-canon.





	1. Establishing Friendships

Garrett Laughlin’s always been smarter than he likes to let on.

What, you thought his friendship with Bram Greenfeld was an extreme case of opposites attract?

Well, he can’t exactly blame you for that. He does genuinely enjoy being the loud, goofy one in whatever friend group he’s in, and relishes the attention he gets from it. While he’s not a theatre kid like Simon and Abby are, he imagines the rush they get from performing is the same sense of euphoria he feels when he makes the winning shot in a soccer game, knowing that all eyes are on him. It gives him a sense of validation that warms him up inside. He’s definitely a full-blown extrovert.

However, more than once someone – usually Bram, and more recently Nick too – has had to jolt him back to reality when he’s been wrapped up in his own thoughts. Not that they’re particularly high-brow thoughts. Garrett’s not like Bram, who can hold up extended conversations with teachers about what they’re covering in AP classes (he genuinely thinks Bram is a super-smart alien sometimes), or Leah, who when she feels like it can give whole lectures on why Draco Malfoy deserved better (he’s pretty sure it’s got something to do with Harry Potter, but remembers Harry ending up with a ginger girl, not a blond dude). He can’t even really compete with Nick on that front, who regularly gives him play-by-play recaps and analysis of whatever match Ronaldo last played. To be fair, he can at least follow those, if Nick remembers to rein in his motor mouth tendency.

Nope, Garrett’s speciality is people. Specifically observing people. He doesn’t know whether or not it comes from his psychologist mom, but he suspects not. Otherwise, surely Simon “Hears and sees things” Spier would actually live up to his name. But while Simon’s known to be a bit off with his assumptions, Garrett takes pride in the fact that he’s generally spot-on. His parents always nag him about the fact that if he spent less time studying people and more time studying for his AP classes, he’d get better grades than even Bram would, but that’s not Garrett’s style. He firmly believes that if everyone spent a little more time looking at other people and trying to understand them, everyone would be a little bit happier. After all, miscommunication can get very messy.

 

So when Bram casually mentions to Nick that they (Garrett and Bram have been a ‘they’ since middle school) might start joining Nick’s table at lunch, Garrett’s interest is piqued. Since all three of them had gone to soccer tryouts Freshman year, they’d naturally hang around together on the pitch, and would sit as a group on bus rides to matches. But the unspoken rule was that while Bram and Garrett sat with the other soccer jocks at lunch, Nick sat with Simon and Leah (and Leah’s other friends, but Nick never really mentioned them). 

At first, Garrett is a bit confused. As far as he can recall, not much has changed for Junior year. Sure, they have less classes with the other soccer guys now, since only some of them are doing AP classes, but it’s not like there’s been a sudden increase in class time with Nick. Nick’s more of a science person, while Bram’s AP classes this year are more humanities and arts, like Literature and World History. He should know – he only selected those classes because Bram did. Mainly because dyslexia sucks and he likes having Bram there to help him proofread his work before hand-in deadlines. Garrett appreciates Bram not judging his crappy spelling.

Then he starts thinking a little more. Wait, there’s the new girl, Abigail Suso. She’s in a lot of their classes now, come to think of it. And she’s become a permanent fixture at Nick’s lunch table – often next to Simon, laughing about whatever Taylor Metternich’s said that day in play rehearsals. Her funny impersonations always make the table laugh (except Leah, but Garrett’s not totally sure why), and she’s definitely caught the eye of more than one guy in the Junior class. Including Nick Eisner, which is what puzzles Garrett. Despite Bram never having a girlfriend, Garrett knows that Bram’s not the sort of guy who would compete with a friend over a girl. Bram’s a pretty decent guy like that.

So, Garrett remains confused.

 

He slowly adjusts to the new dynamic of their lunch table. It takes a few weeks, and a couple of misfired jokes, but he settles in. Nick’s non-soccer friends are definitely nothing like the soccer guys, but they’re still alright.

Morgan and Anna are both a little quiet when him and Bram are around, which Garrett puts down to them being a bit shy and intimidated by two fairly built jocks. They seem to be really artsy though, and remind him of his little sister Natty, whose doodles look similar to the pages in Morgan’s sketchbook that she often brings out at lunch. He doesn’t really see Nick or Simon talk to them much, so he assumes the two girls are mainly Leah’s friends. Kinda like him and Bram are mainly Nick’s friends.

Leah’s also on the quiet side, but the vibe she gives off suggests it’s not due to shyness. Garrett sees the looks she gives them when Bram’s not paying attention, and her shifts to the side when Garrett makes eye contact. He also sees the way she looks at Nick, Abby, and Simon: all a little different, but still containing the same feeling of frustration. She’s a tougher nut to crack, for sure. He’s positive with time that she’ll become more open, though.

Abby is the lively one. She tends to lead the conversation on Garrett’s side of the table, and he’s ended up sitting next to her most of the time. She strikes him as being somewhat of a kindred spirit: likes to get people’s attention so she has a chance to see them better without being obvious about it. His awkward initial attempts at making jokes to the whole table seem to be best received by her. He wonders if it’s because she sees their similarities too.

Nick’s, well, Nick. A more chill version, but still the same easy-going guy Garrett befriended two years ago. The obvious crush on Abby means that more of the table conversation is directed her way than Garrett initially anticipated, but he still appreciates seeing another side to Nick that he’s only seen a couple times before. This bubbly Nick is clearly reserved for _off_ the soccer pitch.

Who really stumps Garrett is Simon. Initially, he could tell Simon was trying to suss him and Bram out, and was a bit stand-offish. Understandable, given that they were new additions to the lunch table. But even after a month, while Simon’s clearly become comfortable with Abby, the only real interaction he’s had with them is the awkward half-smile he makes while reaching for his drink. Which, fair enough, he supposes that suddenly having to interact with jocks that aren’t Nick makes Simon’s theatre kid self feel a little put off. Yet the restraint in interaction doesn’t only seem to be applied to him and Bram, it seems. When Simon’s not in direct conversation, Garrett can see Simon’s mouth start to droop a little, and the nose-sighs he makes before taking a drink.

So Garrett’s got a couple questions for Nick about his friends, but resolves to not ask him. He’d rather not deal with the awkwardness that comes with a “ _Dude_ , what’s up with your friends…?”

 

He hesitates sharing them with Bram, too, but curiosity gets the better of him.

“So, whadaya think of Eisner’s friends?”

It’s a quiet evening. Him and Bram are alone, walking back to Garrett’s car after soccer practice. Nick had gone ahead, saying he had an ‘important appointment’ to get to. Both Bram and Garrett had worked out this was code for ‘game night with Leah and Simon’.

Bram pauses mid stride, then turns to Garrett.

“Hm?”

“Nick Eisner’s friends. Y'know, the people we’re eating lunch with now.”

Bram’s quiet as he faces forward and starts to walk again. Garrett does too.

“They’re cool, I guess? Chill, but cool. Not like the soccer guys.”

“Yeah,” Garrett chuckles, “ _Definitely_ not like the soccer bros.”

There’s another period of silence, then Garrett speaks up again.

“So what made you want the change in scene? Because no offense, but they’re not exactly the most… _fun_ people to be around…?” He lets his sentence trail off.

A beat, and then, “I think they’re kinda interesting?"  
  
Cue side-eye from Garrett. “C’mon, Rett, if they’re friends with Nick they’ve gotta be somewhat cool.” 

“I didn’t say anything, bro!”

“But I know you gave me The Look.”

“What look?”

“You know, the judgey middle-school butt-lips eye-roll look.”

Garrett laughs. “Hey, Greenfeld, I’d like to think I’ve progressed a bit beyond that look by Junior year.”

Bram grins back at him. “Nah, you’re still the dweeb I made friends with in 7th grade. Just a bit bigger now.”

They reach the car. Forgoing the trunk, they unceremoniously dump their stuff in Garrett’s back seat. Bram gets the radio connected to Garrett’s phone, while Garrett starts the ignition.

As Rascal Flatts begins to sing (hey, he’s from the South, he loves his country music), Garrett is still curious for answers, so he decides to continue questioning Bram.

“Haha, but seriously, bro, why’d you want us to switch lunch tables this year? Like, I get wanting to spend more time with Nick, he’s cool, but to be honest I don’t think his friends seem to like us that much.”

There’s a pause.

“Like I said, they’re kinda interesting.”

“You gotta give me more than that, Greenfeld.”

Then Bram blushes, of all things. It’s faint, but Garrett can just make out a flush of pink across his cheeks. “… Well, some of them are interesting.”

“ _Interesting_ , huh? Are you sure that’s the word you wanna go with?” Garrett’s definitely curious now.

Bram turns his face to the window. He hums in agreement, and doesn’t expand upon his answer. There’s a nervous energy there, definitely.

“Which one, then? Abby, Leah, Morgan or Anna?”

Bram freezes. “What?”

“Which one of them have you got a crush on?”

“Uh…”

Garrett senses there’s something off, but he puts it down to Bram just being nervous about talking about girls. He laughs softly to break the ice.

“Look bro, I get it. We don’t talk much about girls… well, not you, anyway. I know you’ve listened to me go on about Rachel Wood’s boobs too many times. But like, if you wanna talk to me about it, I’m right here, bro, yeah?”

He spares a glance to his right as he takes the turn to Bram’s house. Bram is no longer looking out the window.

“Yeah, got it. Thanks, Rett.” It’s quieter than normal.

They pull into Bram’s driveway, and Garrett waves goodbye as Bram walks in, soccer bag slung over his shoulder.

 

Well, Garrett now knows why they don’t sit with the other soccer guys at lunch anymore.


	2. New Friendships Are Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Two quick things:
> 
> Firstly, thanks so much to everyone for your kind responses to the first chapter, especially those who left kudos and comments! They're much appreciated :D I'll try and reply to all the comments on previous chapters every time I post.
> 
> Secondly, since Garrett's quite involved in the Halloween party in the book and the dialogue's pretty packed there, it was too awkward for me to realistically work around it all without the chapter feeling really clunky. Sorry! 
> 
> So, for copyright's sake, any recognisable text between the "<<" and ">>" marks belongs to Becky Albertalli. Any recognisable characters are not my own, and belong to Becky Albertalli and/or 20th Century Fox.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter include some light swearing/cussing and underage drinking.

And then Garrett gets confused again.

It’s now halfway through October, and Garrett’s about to chow down on whatever mystery meat the cafeteria’s serving that day when he spots Martin Adderall – sorry, Addison – stopping Simon on the way back from the lunch line. He pauses, fork mid-air, and eyebrows furrowing. He can’t quite make out what they’re talking about, but with the nod at their (well, Nick’s) lunch table and the disgruntled look on Simon’s face, he assumes it’s something got to do with sitting with them. Simon doesn’t appear to like change very much, it appears. Especially regarding lunch arrangements.

Still, Garrett can’t blame Simon for not being thrilled at the prospect of Martin joining them. Excepting the fact that it’s an unspoken rule that lunch tables don’t change, especially mid-trimester (meaning Bram must be pretty serious about this crush), Martin Addison isn’t friends with anyone in their group, unless Garrett has somehow missed something.

  _Hm._ Has he?

 He tries to catch Nick’s eye across the table, but Nick’s too absorbed in conversation with Abby to pay attention to anything else. Luckily, after a few minutes, Bram seems to notice Garrett’s intense gaze. He elbows Nick.

 “Dude, Rett’s staring at you.”

 “Huh? Yo, Garrett, why’re you looking at me like that?”

 Shoot. Maybe Garrett needs to tone it down a little.

 “Sorry, bro. Just, what’s up with Adderall and Spier? Didn’t realise they were friends,” he says, trying to keep his tone casual.

 “What? Um, I don’t _think_ they are? Si’s never mentioned him much…”

 “Wait,” Abby chimes in next to Garrett, “You mean Marty Addison?”

 Garrett grunts the affirmative.

 “Well, we’re all doing Oliver!, and they have a lot of scenes together, so maybe that’s it? There’s a lot of down-time in rehearsal, so theatre kids tend to get close kinda quickly.” Abby pops a grape into her mouth, chewing contemplatively.  Garrett’s not really familiar with theatre club stuff, so he takes Abby at her word for now.

 Simon plonks himself down on Abby’s other side again, and pushes his glasses back up with a huff. “Sorry, guys, just got caught up for a minute. What’d I miss?”

 “Not much,” Abby replies with a grin. “Just Garrett asking about Oliver. Speaking of, did you hear Taylor last rehearsal? I swear, one day she’s…”

 At this point, Garrett tunes out of the conversation. Clearly, he’s not going to get any better answers today. And to be honest, the Metternich stories get a little repetitive after a while, even though she apparently seems to come up with more self-important stuff every play practice. Not really Abby’s fault though, he supposes. But there’s only so many times he can take interest in someone he barely knows.

 What he _does_ take interest in is Bram shifting next to him, apparently in response to whatever Abby’s just said. He doesn’t miss the shy smile on Bram’s face as Abby and Simon start giggling, hands covering their mouths.

 Huh. Well, that narrows it down a bit.

 

After that, Garrett finds himself desperately needing to catch up with homework, so for a week he abandons the lunch table in favour of the library. Bram’s cool enough to join him, even though Bram is two full weeks ahead with assignments. Has Garrett made it clear how much he appreciates his bro yet?

“Aaagh!” His head rocks forwards, fingers interlaced around the back of his neck.

Bram looks up from his SAT prep book. “You alright, Rett?”

“This damn… ugh, how do you write all these friggin’ essays, man, I don’t get it.”

“Want me to take a look?” Bram gestures to the laptop. Garrett sighs as he pushes it towards Bram.

“It’s just… I can’t form sentences? Like, I know what points I wanna make, but not how to _say_ them. It’s frustrating.”

Bram scans the screen. “Mm,” he says, “I know the feeling. I get it all the time… your points are good though, Rett, if it’s any reassurance?”

Garrett sighs again. “Thanks, bro. This essay’s just doing my head in though right now…”

“Yeah, I get it. Uh… nothing’s springing to mind at the minute, but maybe get Natalie to help you out? She’s better with words than I am.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s worth a shot.”

They fall back into a comfortable silence. After quickly scouring the library for any rogue teachers around, he retrieves his phone from his bag and sends Natty a text about essay help. He sits back, glaring at his scuffed-up planning page. He’ll try to conquer it again tonight.

With the essay pushed to the back of his mind, his eyes wander over his surroundings. He can hear faint click-clacking noises from his right ear, but they’re pretty distant, and he can’t see the source. So he finds his gaze naturally falling back upon his friend opposite him.

Garrett’s noticed that recently, Bram’s been a bit cagier than he was previously. He can see it in the way Bram’s shoulders rise up more often than not, like they’re doing so right now. He’s not sure why Bram’s suddenly appearing so defensive all the time, almost like he’s bracing himself for something. There’s also the jiggling of a leg under the table. Bram never used to do that.

Where’s calm, chill, collected Bram gone? When did he leave?

“Hello-o… world to Garrett?” Bram’s hand appears in front of his nose. Garrett blinks.

“Yeah, sorry, was just thinking about something…”

“About what?”

Garrett hesitates. He’d rather not confront Bram about… whatever it is in a public space. So he has to come up with an excuse, fast.

“Uh… just Halloween. My parents are out that night for Dad’s work thing – remember I mentioned he booked a gig for sometime late October a while back? And Natty’s been nagging me about hosting a Halloween party ever since, but I’m not sure it’s the best idea…”

_Good save, Laughlin._

“Why not? It’s a good excuse to get people together, right?”

“That’s a good point… and it would be pretty fun…" 

“Just go for it! What’s the worst that can happen? As long as you keep it to a relatively small group, there’s not much to worry about.”

“Yeah… okay, I’ll tell her it’s a go. You up for helping me prep for it? Nothing big, just to get snacks and drinks set up and stuff.”

Bram’s smile fades. “Sorry Rett, no dice. Mom’s working that night and wants me on candy duty.”

Garrett pouts. “You’re really leaving me alone on Halloween? Guess Eisner’s getting the title of ‘best friend’ now, since I know he won’t ditch me…” He makes a big fuss of crossing his arms over his chest.

“Aw no, c’mon Rett, you know it’s not because I don’t want to be there-”

“I can’t believe you’re choosing a woman over me, Abraham Louis Greenfeld! That’s it, we’re done!” Garrett huffs again, shaking his head.

Then he looks back at Bram. Their eyes meet.

They start giggling.

It earns them a judging glare from the librarian, but Garrett’s glad that he got his best friend to laugh a little. Maybe it’ll help him feel less tense about whatever’s running through his head right now.

On the way out of the library, Garrett nudges Bram’s side softly.

“Seriously though, don’t worry about Halloween, bro. It’s chill. Wish I had the back-up, but I get it, family comes first.”

 He feels a nudge back.

“I wish I could make it. Alas, you’ll be on your own defending your dad’s guitar from Nick,” Bram laughs. “I also had the best idea for this year’s costume – what do you think of Obama post-presidency? Just chillin’ in a Hawaiian shirt, cocktail in hand…”

Garrett snorts.

 

The night of the party comes faster than Garrett was expecting. To be honest, he’s a little intimidated at the prospect of trying to keep his house, well, intact tonight. Without Bram there to back him up, Garrett’s nerves had gotten the better of him and he’d caved into the pressure of inviting the soccer guys over as well. Not exactly the best move to endear himself to Nick’s friends, he knows, but Garrett knows how to talk ‘Soccer Bro’. He still needs Bram and Nick to help him talk to Simon and Leah without it being awkward.

So even though he knows it’s not the best idea, as soon as his parents leave he grabs a solo cup and vodka bottle and proceeds to pour himself a shot. Okay, _maaaaybe_ it’s closer to two shots, now that he’s looking at it. Whatever, he’s not exactly checking.

Drunk courage, right?

As he puts the bottle back with the other drinks, he sees Natty and - uh, he thinks her name’s Karen? – coming down the stairs, eyeing the drinks table.

Hm. Not too sure how he feels about that. Call him a hypocrite, but the thought of his sister and her friends drinking underage doesn’t sit quite right with him, especially since they’re only freshmen (freshwomen?). Garrett walks over to the speakers by the window, and plugs the aux cord in while getting his Spotify playlist set up. Oh well, as long as they don’t get too drunk it’ll be fine.

He’s finishing his second beer by the time Nick and his friends rock up. The other soccer guys came uncharacteristically early, desperate to get the party started so they could start drinking. And they _may_ have brought along more people than Garrett was anticipating. So, there’s been a few rounds of beer pong already, and while Garrett’s able to make footballs go where he wants, the same can’t be said for ping pong balls. 

He may have had more than just beer. But things will still be fine… he hopes.

Trying his best to tone down his soccer bro-ness, he pushes his way through the crowd, aiming for the general direction of Nick’s curls. He fist-bumps his friend, greeting him with a tamer version of  the typical Garrett Laughlin greeting:

<< “Eisner. What. Is Up?”

 Nick grins in response. “Looks like the party’s already poppin’, dude.”

 “Sure is, bro. So, what can I get you to drink?” Garrett says, turning to the rest of the group. “We have beer and, um, vodka and rum.”

 He sees Leah’s eyes narrow. “Yeah, thanks, no. I drove.”

 Damn it. He’s already annoyed her and she’s only been here two minutes.

 “Oh, well, we have Cokes and juice and… stuff.”

 There’s an awkward pause.

 “I’ll have vodka with orange juice,” says Abby. Leah shakes her head.

 “A screwdriver for Wonder Woman, coming right up. Eisner, Spier? Anything? Can I get you a beer?”

 Drawing his eyes away from the party, Simon blinks at Garrett. “Sure,” he says, with an awkward half-smile. At least Garrett’s not the only one nervous tonight.

 “Spier, a beer,” he laughs, trying to lighten the mood a little. “Cool, I’ll be back in a minute. And Eisner, my dad’s guitar’s in the closet upstairs, on the right.” >>

 “Cheers, Garrett!” Nick’s already halfway to the staircase.

 On his way back with the drinks, he sees Abby laughing. Leah also looks uncharacteristically happy, funnily enough. She looks pretty when she smiles, Garrett thinks. It brings out the dimple in her left cheek. But when Simon turns to see him, her gaze follows, and then the small smile is gone. Shame.

 <<“All right—screwdrivers for the ladies . . . ,” Garrett says, handing one to each of them.

 “This is . . . okay,” says Leah, rolling her eyes and leaving the drink on the table behind her.

  “And a beer for—whatever the hell you’re supposed to be.”

“A dementor,” Simon replies.

“What in God’s holy name is that?” The word sounds oddly familiar, but he can’t quite recall from where.  
  
“A dementor? From Harry Potter?” Aha.  
  
“Well, put your hood back, for the love of Jesus. And who are you supposed to be?”  
  
“Kim Kardashian,” says Leah, just completely deadpan. Garrett’s confused. He’s mostly sure she’s joking, but with Leah he’s never totally sure.

“Tohru from Fruits Basket.”  
  
“I . . .”  
  
“It’s a manga,” she says.

“Ah.” There’s a crash of dissonant piano notes from across the room, and Garrett’s eyes shift towards the back of the room. A couple of girls are sitting on the piano bench. It’s Natty and who he thinks is Karen. There’s a burst of wild, drunk laughter. >>

God _damnit_ , they’re drunk. _Not_ what Garrett needs right now. Especially when their drinks are dangerously close to toppling onto the piano keys.

He makes an excuse and a quick exit from the group, and moves to protect the piano. At least it’ll be safer with the lid on. He glares at Natty, who offers him a sheepish smile. Ugh. He’ll deal with her and her friend in the morning.

Then Nick’s tuning the guitar on the couch. Garrett signals to Dom Carvalho to pause the playlist on his phone, and heads back to the drinks table to get himself another beer. Hey, the host deserves to chill for a bit and enjoy his own party, right? As the gentle strumming and distinct voice reaches his ears, his shoulders fall in relief. Bram was right, in the end.


	3. New Month, New Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay on this one! A lot of IRL stuff happened at once, so this got put on the backburner. I'll try and be better updating it more frequently though!

The illusion is soon shattered.

 

It’s morning now, and Garrett’s only just beginning to comprehend the scale of the clean-up job. It’ll be a miracle if he can get downstairs to look somewhat presentable before his parents arrive back, even with the help of Natty and probably-Karen. Thankfully, none of the big things are damaged, and everything can be put back to normal, but God _damn_ the floor’s gonna be an absolute pain in the butt to clean. He silently apologises in his head to his parents (read: his mom) for the sheer volume of profanity and blasphemy he _knows_ he’s going to use in the process.

 

God may be ever-forgiving, but Susie Laughlin sure as hell ain’t.

 

(Heck. He said ‘sure as heck’, if his mom’s asking.)

 

With a sigh, he climbs the stairs again and knocks on Natty’s door. When there’s no audible answer, he opens the door, fully prepared to do the classic shout-in-someone’s ear trick to wake them up. Well, Natty, at least. It’d be a bit weird to do it to her friend whose name he’s still not even sure of.

 

He does not expect the wall of smoke that smacks him straight in the nose.

 

Garrett also does not expect to see a Real Madrid jersey on the floor.

 

Needless to say, he’s a little stunned right now.

 

“Is it my turn for the show…” Karen’s voice trails off as her eyes meet his. “Oh. You’re not Nat.”

 

“Where is she.”

 

On cue, he hears footsteps behind him. He turns to see Natty, hair wrapped in a towel, with her eyes wide.

 

“Rett? I didn’t expect you to be up yet,” she starts.

 

“Downstairs. Now.”

 

She trails after Garrett as he stomps back down the stairs, in a decidedly worse mood than he had woken up in this morning. When they reach the kitchen, he grabs the mop and thrusts it towards Natty, who tentatively takes it.

 

“We need to clean this mess up before Mom and Dad get back. But we’re talking about what I found in your room this morning. Get Karen to help once she’s showered; I’m heading to Target to get more detergent.”

 

He power-walks out the door, but before it closes he hears Natty faintly calling after him.

 

“You know her name’s Tara, right?”

 

Garrett’s _this_ close to chucking his keys at Natalie right now.

 

 

And then it’s Spirit Week. Thankfully, Abby had managed to persuade two of her cheerleading friends to lend uniforms to both Garrett and Bram, although not without some hesitation. Garrett is under strict instructions to not do anything that could over-stretch the lycra, or he’d have to provide Kelsey with “adequate compensation”, as she’d phrased it. (Stupid SAT words. Sure, she’s aiming for the Ivy leagues, but still.) Rachel had also used those words when handing her uniform over to Bram, but considering how she’d put her hand on his shoulder while saying it, Garrett is under the impression that she was referencing a very _different_ type of compensation than Kelsey was. Judging by his quick step backwards and swift nod, Bram was a little uncomfortable with that interaction. However, Garrett would have taken some clumsily implied innuendo over Kelsey’s cold attitude any day.

 

Still, Bram, Garrett and Nick are here. They’re in these uncomfortably clingy uniforms, and they are going to make the most of it.

 

Garrett’s going to have to figure out how to sit down without exposing his boxer shorts, though. Creekwood High is fairly liberal, especially for a school in Georgia, but he’s pretty sure he’ll get dress-coded if a teacher sees under his skirt.

 

Unfortunately, the rest of their lunch table is not as enthusiastic about Gender Bender day. He can’t help but feel a little disappointed. Aside from Abby, who’d managed to borrow her cousin’s old suit, everyone else is mostly dressed the same. Morgan and Anna are wearing more blue than usual, and Simon’s got a butterfly clip in his hair, but that’s about it. Leah, of all things, is dressing more feminine. Garrett’s not quite sure why, but he’s learnt from Halloween that questioning Leah about what she’s wearing is probably not a wise idea.

 

He tugs the top down again for the third time that day, and tries to catch what’s being said at his side of the lunch table. Of course, it’s mostly just Nick and Abby not-so-subtly flirting, while third wheel Simon has his hand to his cheek, clearly as interested as Garrett is in this conversation. He still seems rather engrossed in something though, judging by his expression. Garrett follows Simon’s line of sight, and finds himself looking at an exposed, brown leg. Bram’s currently got one leg resting over the other, ankle on knee, while leaning back in his chair. His eyes are currently focused on his phone, while Simon’s eyes are clearly focused on him. When Bram looks up a few moments later and catches Simon’s eye, both boys quickly turn their heads away, and the tops of Simon’s ears have gone rather pink. On the other hand, Bram’s eyes are resolutely back on his phone, but his leg is noticeably jiggling again, just like it did in the library the other day.

 

_Well then._

 

 

Unfortunately, Garrett’s on his own on Tuesday. So no opportunity to investigate WWWB – What’s Wrong With Bram. He’s pretty proud of the acronym, to be honest. It’s kinda catchy.

 

The lunch table is empty when he gets there, save for Leah, who’s dressed in all black. To her credit, she is wearing a black Stetson too, so he can’t say she’s completely gone against the ‘country’ theme for today. He’s still a little confused about it though.

 

“You trying to relive freshman year there, Burke?”

 

“Who _doesn’t_ want to be fourteen again. Would make life a lot easier,” she mutters, drenching her french fry in ketchup.

 

Garrett chuckles a little as he sits down. “Yeah, right? No SATs or APs to worry about, no need to salvage our GPAs… ha, freshman year was the best.”

 

Leah sighs. She looks at him for the first time, with an uncharacteristically melancholic look. “Hey, has Nick kinda been distant from you lately?”

 

Garrett blinks. And blinks again. Leah Burke, willingly talking to him? This is unexpected.

 

“Uh… he’s not catching rides with me and Greenfeld – I mean Greenfeld and I – after soccer practice as much lately, I guess…?” He attempts a nonchalant shoulder shrug, but judging from Leah’s expression it’s not quite worked.

 

“Right…” she says, drawing out the ‘i’. “Where’s Bram? Maybe I should ask him too.”

 

Ouch. That hurts a little, but he’s not quite sure why.

 

He tries to laugh off the jab at his self-esteem. “Ha ha, he’s not in today. Guess you’re stuck with me for a bit, huh?”

 

“Guess so.”

 

There’s an awkward silence.

 

“Hey, Burke… if it makes you feel a bit better, Eisner’s not the only one who seems a bit off lately.” He catches her eye and smiles a little. He’s never admitted out loud that Bram’s being distant before, but it’s a relief to get it off his chest, even if it’s only a vague comment to an acquaintance.

 

Leah’s eyebrows raise slightly in acknowledgement, and she nods. There's a softer look on her face than Garrett's seen previously. Without her usual scowl, her eyes look brighter somehow, and the lines around her mouth fade into her skin. He can even spot a few faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. It's somewhat endearing. She projects this tough outer image, but when it's stripped away she's actually not as intimidating as he had expected. It hits him that he possibly finds her attractive, but he quickly dismisses the thought. Not the time for this. He wants to be fully convinced she actually doesn't hate his guts before he allows himself to entertain the possibility of anything else.

 

She finally responds. “Thanks.” It’s a small ‘thanks’, but Garrett will take that progress.

 

Then her eyes move downwards to his shirt. After a pause, she speaks again. “I know it’s Georgia, but why are you wearing short-sleeve plaid? It’s November.”

 

Ah, so the moment’s over. “Well, since the junior theme is country – you do know we’re country, and the freshmen are goths, right?” He asks.  Leah rolls her eyes at him, but nods as he continues. “Yeah, so I figured it was a good time to break out my country star impressions... You wanna see one?”

 

Leah sighs. “If you want to make a fool out of yourself, go ahead.”

 

Well, it’s not a no, so…

 

As he starts the second verse, he’s interrupted. “This sounds exactly like any other country song. You do know that, right?”

 

He pauses mid-note. “You mean you don’t recognise the song?”

 

“Should I?”

 

Garrett nods, exasperated. “How can you not recognise the song? It’s ‘Don’t You Wanna Stay’, by Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson.”

 

“She was on American Idol, right?”

 

“Only the first and most famous winner of the show, Burke. And Jason Aldean, he’s pretty big right now too. He was on the Ellen show a while ago!”

 

Leah cocks her head to the side. “Who the hell is that?”

 

“You seriously haven’t heard of Jason Aldean?”

 

“I seriously haven’t.”

 

At this point Garrett slaps his hands down on the table in frustration. He can’t believe he was starting to find Leah attractive when she doesn’t even know anything about country music. Atlanta may be pretty metropolitan, but it’s still the South. Come on.

He turns his head to see Simon imitating him. Damn, he hadn’t realised someone else had seen him do that. He shoots Simon a self-conscious smile, and tilts his head towards him in acknowledgement. Great. He’d nerded out about country music at school, and in front of Leah and Simon, of all people. A sinkhole appearing right below him would be perfect right about now.

 

Nick arrives at the table shortly afterwards, so thankfully Garrett is saved from having to explain what happened to Simon.

 

Of course, something else blows up.

 

One minute, Leah’s worried about Nick, the next she looks like she’s willing to kill him over Homecoming, of all things. But from the set of Leah’s jaw, and their conversation moments before, Garrett has the sense that maybe this isn’t just about Waffle House, at least for her.

And when Simon says he’ll go to the game with Nick, refusing to make eye contact with Leah, Garrett thinks Simon also knows this.

 

“Seriously?”

 

Simon at least has the grace to look embarrassed about his apparently deep betrayal.

 

“Et tu, Brute?” Okay, that’s the first reference Leah’s made that Garrett understands – even if it’s only because of AP English.

 

“Holy overreaction, Batman-” Nick starts to interject.

 

“You shut up.”

 

In order to diffuse some of the tension, Garrett laughs. He gains a sympathetic look from Simon, but Leah and Nick are still locked in their silent standoff. No luck this time.

 

When Abby arrives to the weird silence and asks what she missed, Nick’s cheeks turn pink, Leah storms off, and Garrett realises that this group is a _lot_ more complicated than the soccer team.


	4. discontinuation

Sorry to anyone who still cares about this.

I've decided to abandon this for 3 main reasons:

a) I started writing this during my Easter break, where I had a lot more free time. Academic deadlines kicked my butt last semester and I got too wrapped up in that to be able to dedicate time to this. Sorry. 

b) I read 'Leah on the Offbeat' while I was still thinking about writing chapter 4, and I wasn't too satisfied with it? Don't get me wrong, I love Abby/Leah (yes wlw rep), but like, it kinda put me off the 'verse.

c) This story was planned out before I knew what happened in LOTO. Considering this was meant to be a canon-compliant fic, I can't find a way to retcon what I've already written to make it fit in with the characters as they appear in LOTO (especially Garrett). I know fanfic's no 1 rule is basically do what you want, but I like canon compliancy, okay? lol. 

I just want to say thanks ever so much for all the supportive comments I've received on this, it means a lot. Alas, I don't see myself attempting to write in this fandom again - just due to losing passion in the 'verse. 

Again, apologies to anyone who wanted to see this develop. Figured you deserve an explanation, rather than just letting this gather dust for eternity.


End file.
